True Blood’s Gran, Lois Smith in Theater Drama “Marjorie Prime”

This “captivating” (Los Angeles Daily News) new drama invites you on a twisty ride to uncharted theatrical terrain.

Marjorie Prime “questions the way remembering and forgetting govern our relationships to each other and to ourselves…it’s the kind of experience that keeps unfolding in the mind long after the 80-minute play is over.” —Los Angeles Times

The world premiere of Jordan Harrison’s “Marjorie Prime” opens at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum on Sunday, September 21, 2014, at 7 p.m. Directed by Obie Award-winner Les Waters, the profound and engaging new play continues through October 19, 2014.

The cast of “Marjorie Prime” features acclaimed actors Lois Smith (Tony Award nominated for “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Buried Child”), and, in alphabetical order, Lisa Emery (who has appeared on Broadway in “Relatively Speaking,” “The Smell of the Kill” and “The Women,” among others), Jeff Ward (who recently made his Broadway debut with “Orphans”) and Frank Wood (Tony Award winner for “Sideman”; recently appeared at the Taper in “Clybourne Park”). Set design for “Marjorie Prime” is by Mimi Lien, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, sound design by Adam Phalen and casting is by Mark B. Simon, CSA. The production stage manager is David S. Franklin.

“Marjorie Prime” asks exquisite questions about the difference between a life lived and a life remembered. Marjorie (Smith) is a clever, wry woman who, at age 85, finds that her memory is failing. She is living out her days at an assisted living facility where she is frequently visited by her anxious, quick-witted daughter, Tess (Emery), and her kind, easygoing son-in-law, Jon (Wood). With the urging of Jon and the facility and despite Tess’ misgivings, a mysterious young man, Walter (Ward), joins the group with the hope that he can help reverse Marjorie’s decline. Through an ingenious series of shifting realities, Walter’s nature is revealed, and the family’s memories gently unfold into a cathartic meditation on life and loss, and the desire to keep our dearly departed with us.

Tickets for “Marjorie Prime” are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or visiting the Center Theater Group website . Tickets range from $2 -$70 (ticket prices are subject to change).

The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.